Maryland voters are facing a reprise of the 2006 governor’s race, but with the candidates in opposite roles. In 2006, as disenchantment with the Bush administration grew in this traditionally Democratic state, Martin O’Malley, the former mayor of Baltimore, unseated Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr., a former congressman who had been the first Republican governor since Spiro Agnew. Now it is Mr. Ehrlich who hopes to benefit from anti-incumbent feelings, and he is courting independent and moderate Democratic voters who are uneasy about the deficit and jobs. Echoing the partisan debate in Washington, Mr. O’Malley boasts of creating jobs through tax credits for business hiring and a new port project in Baltimore. He has also disparaged Mr. Ehrlich’s recent work as a lobbyist for big business. Mr. Ehrlich says the governor has choked off growth with budget deficits, a rise in the sales tax and the over-regulation of business.

— Erik Eckholm

#2010: Tweets From The Times

RT @nytimespolitics: At a Rally in Md for OMalley, Obama Tries to Fire Up the Democratic Base http://nyti.ms/9OcGRN